I was too young in 1960 to know about the latest fads in higher education, but I do remember when my parents gave me a yellow Hula hoop for my birthday, and when Hank Ballard and (later) Chubby Checker sang a new song called The Twist. Little did I know then that this song would lead to the Peppermint Twist, Twisting the Night Away, Let’s Twist Again, and umpteen other twisting songs that had absolutely nothing to do with Twisted Sister or distance education either one. A dance called The Twist became a huge fad for a few years.

As it turned out though, The Twist faded out. By the end of the decade, it was a faint memory as we traded our bobby socks for bell bottomed pants and wide pink and purple polka dotted ties. The fad passed. I don’t remember what happened to the Hula hoop. It may have been in the basement with the rest of the junk my brother cleaned out when my father sold the house. Fads come and go. Some of them, like wide loud ties, come back again. I wore out my last pair of bell bottoms in the mid-seventies, but I still have a slightly stained 1969 bright lime double breasted mohair sport coat. Wonder if I should keep it?

I also remember 1992 when Total Quality Improvement (TQI) was such a big deal in higher education. I remember a group from some college in Wisconsin coming to town and talking it up big time. Some of Clinton’s people even promoted it on television. Since the economy got better and lots of people are too busy to go to college, it seems that quantity has replaced quality as the priority, and TQI has headed right back to Wisconsin. Wonder if they still use it there now, or did it go the way of The Twist and bell bottoms?

And what about this latest fad called distance education? Where will it go? Everybody’s talking about it, even on C-Span, just like they did 5 or 6 years ago about TQI. Is it just another fad or is there something here that will actually last? Is distance education like air conditioning and color television, or is it more like bell bottoms and The Twist?

Perhaps the answer lies in another question: Who is the target audience for this product? Are we marketing it to traditional high school graduates or to professionals who desire to enhance their education through specific skills? Are we marketing it to young computer nerds or to housewives who have never touched a computer in their lives? Do our students realize that audio-visual devices include things other than the black and white overhead projector? In order for distance education to be a viable product, those who take the classes must be able to use the equipment that is required in those classes. Otherwise, it turns out to be like that household gadget that ends up at the next garage sale.

Distance education depends on the use of sophisticated audio-visual technology, not the least of which is a thing called a personal computer (or television set) hooked up to another thing called the World Wide Web Internet. Effectively utilizing the resources and features of the Internet can be rather challenging for someone with little or no background in computers, especially for someone who is not technically inclined. If distance education is to be more than a passing fad, more attention needs to be given to defining the targeted student population.

Would you try to teach someone how to drive a car by putting him behind the wheel of a full size school bus? Would you try to teach someone Introduction to Computers via distance education utilizing the Internet? If the target population needs to learn about computers, chances are they don’t know much about the Internet either. If the customer can’t use the computer yet, why put the cart before the horse just to promote another distance education class that will end up like that gadget at tomorrow’s garage sale?

Isn’t this like a home correspondence course in French that is written in French? Hey, I can’t read the directions! Jane College can’t find your Internet site either, because the icon that your help screen says is blue and in the middle is actually green and to the right (if that’s even the right one at all), because Junior was customizing the screen last night, and the green icon might format the hard drive! How can you teach people about computers on computers when they don’t yet know how to use computers? Having taught hands-on computer classes at junior colleges for over ten years, I can assure you that there is no substitute for human teachers when the students are novices.

Are there cases where distance education will actually work? Of course. A prime example in the computer field would be a Java programming course geared to computer professionals and advanced college students who already know C++ programming and the Internet. It could be taught utilizing the World Wide Web to people who are already familiar with it, thus greatly enhancing the chances of success. That makes sense. That might last for awhile, at least until Java is replaced by something else, and then we can teach the replacement via distance education too. If the students already know how to use the instructional tools, then distance education can be more than a fad.

Here’s the bottom line question: What are we selling, real education or hype? To the degree that the answer is the former, distance education will likely be around for a long time. To the degree that it is the latter, it will go the way of The Twist, bell bottoms, and that gadget nobody bought at yesterday’s garage sale.

Fads, Pop Education Culture, and Distance Education *** Is Distance Education Just a Fad? *** The Twist, Bell Bottoms, and Distance Education *** Will Distance Education Still Be Here in 5 Years *** Fads, Pop Education Culture, and Distance Education *** Is Distance Education Just a Fad? *** The Twist, Bell Bottoms, and Distance Education *** Is Distance Education Just a Fad?